1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to medical measuring devices and methods, and in particular to wound modeling and treatment applications of same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the medical field, wound treatment encompasses a wide variety of procedures, pharmacologicals, devices and equipment. Health care institutions and other providers commonly devote substantial resources to wound treatment. Treating open wounds, such as those associated with decubitus pressure ulcers and other chronic conditions, can be particularly challenging. For example, wound care facilities commonly specialize in the treatment of open, slow-healing wounds.
Certain types of open wounds exhibit subdermal voids and pockets whereby intact skin areas are undermined by infected and necrotic tissue. Such subdermal conditions can be difficult to treat because they are not readily observable and do not respond to surface-applied treatment protocols. For example, an undermined wound may appear to be closing at the epidermis, when in fact subdermal conditions are actually worsening. Determining the extent of subsurface wounds is an important aspect of monitoring treatment progress and selecting appropriate treatment protocols.
The related art includes devices and procedures for measuring and modeling open and subsurface wounds. For example, US Marketing Services Worldwide (USMS) of Miami, Fla. offers a Wound Stick™ Measuring System with calibrated rulers adapted for measuring open wounds and a Wound Stick Tunneler™ for insertion into undermined pressure wounds. The measurements can be used to produce a WoundMap™ record, which documents the extent of subsurface injury. Another related art device is shown in Japanese Patent Abstract Publication No. 2004-073,769, which discloses a decubitus pocket measure including a probe and a measure, which enable marking the skin surface above the undermined portion of the wound. The use of this device is described in Kosaka, M. et al., “Pocket Measure”: an Exclusive Tool for Measuring and Recording Pressure Ulcer Pockets, Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, August 2004, pp. 644-25.
A wound measuring device for open and subsurface wounds would ideally be adapted for obtaining multiple measurements of irregular shapes, such as undermined wounds, and using such measurements for generating two-dimensional or three-dimensional models. Patient comfort and use of operation are additional considerations. The present invention addresses these considerations. Heretofore there has not been available a medical measuring device and method with the advantages and features of the present invention.